


half past the point of oblivion

by Ultron



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, No Spoilers, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 15:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14428290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultron/pseuds/Ultron
Summary: A dream. That's what it feels like when Natasha wakes up.





	half past the point of oblivion

A dream.

That's what it feels like when Natasha wakes up. Rays of sunlight are shining through the sheer curtains on the french doors, giving the room an ethereal glow. Birds chirp in greeting to each other in the redbud tree outside. The down comforter on her bed makes it look like she's sleeping in a cloud. She rolls over, trying to sink deeper into the bed, wanting to stay in this moment forever.

However, a faint knocking on the door is the first signal that it's almost time to confront the real world.

"Natasha..." The voice on the other side is barely above a whisper, clearly not wanting to disturb her. She doesn't respond at first, just pulls the comforter up further on her shoulders, hoping maybe the owner of the voice will just go away.

The door creaks open and she knows he's popped his head in when she hears a clearer whisper of "Natasha..."

Again, she doesn't move but this time she can hear footsteps across the hardwood, leading to the bed. He sits down on the bed, close enough she can smell his soap. She vaguely remembers him taking a shower earlier that morning, his playful quip asking her to join. She smiles at the thought and shifts a little closer to him, trying to tease him by letting know she's awake now.

He picks up on the hint and gently places a hand on her shoulder. "Natasha..." he whispers in an almost sing-song voice.

She stays quiet, smile still on her face, as he gently pulls the comforter off her shoulder and leans down to start placing little kisses on her bare skin, his beard scratching against it. "Natasha..."

She can't suppress the giggle that comes when he kisses the ticklish spot at the base of neck. He takes that as his chance to grab her and roll over until she's laid out on top of him. She stares into his blue eyes and smiles. "Good morning, Captain."

Steve returns the smile as he strokes her hair. "Morning. Did you sleep well?"

She shrugs a shoulder. "For the most part. I slept best when you were holding me. Worse when you left."

"I'd have given anything to just keep laying there but..."

"I know," she begins, "Crime never sleeps."

"I don't think I said it that cheesy bu-ow!"

Natasha playfully jabs him in the side and they both break out into laughter before he pulls her into a kiss. His lips re sticky and she can taste a sweet syrup on them. When he releases her, she sits up so she's straddling him. "Did you make breakfast?"

He nods. "Pancakes. Didn't feel like going back to sleep and after I showered I wanted to let you keep resting so I decided the only thing to do was cook. Plenty still left." 

She raises an eyebrow. "Chocolate chip?" 

"Of course."

It doesn't take Natasha another second before she jumps off him and makes a break to the kitchen. Steve just props up on his elbows and smiles as he watches her go.

When Natasha gets to the kitchen, she's hit with the mouthwatering smells of syrup, butter, and chocolate. She quickly grabs a plate, piles the pancakes on it, and takes a seat at their little two person kitchen table. Rarely do either of them get a home-cooked meal. Not because they can't or don't want to cook but rather because who has time for that after you've spent all day fighting crime.

Steve walks in right as she starts devouring her stack and he can't help but smile at the scene. These are his favorite moments with his wife: watching her, happy and healthy and living life as if they aren't saving the world every other day. He makes his way over to the table, kissing her on top of the head as he passes by, and takes a seat beside her. 

Natasha keeps eating as she looks out of the corner of her eye to see him just staring at her. He looks at her like she's hung the moon; he always looks at her like that no matter what she's doing. Kicking some evildoer's ass, eating pancakes, jumping onto an alien spacecraft, telling somebody off. To him, everything she does is absolutely, positively amazing.

She blushes a little at the thought and turns away from him slightly. They've been married going on two years now and yet he is still the only man who can make her feel flustered and embarrassed.

He playfully pokes her cheek, puffed up with pancake. "I love you."

She's heard that from him at least a thousand times by now but it still never ceases to make butterflies stir up in her stomach. She's sure he's said it now just to fluster her further. Well, she's not going to let him win easily. She quickly swallows her food and then slides off her seat onto his lap. She wraps her arms around his neck and she feels his wrap around her back.

"Prove it," she says with a sly grin.

He returns the grin (fuck, does she love when he gives her that grin) as he lifts her up onto the counter. As he cups her face to pull her into a kiss, she balls her fists into his grey t-shirt and pulls him to her, harder and faster. The kiss is messy but she doesn't care. She just wants to feel his lips against hers.

He moves his hands from her face, placing one on the counter and the other on her stomach as he pushes her down. She pulls him with her and when her shoulders hit the cold granite she moves her hands from his shirt to his hair.

He breaks the kiss and moves on to kissing the side of her mouth, trailing down to her jaw, then her neck. She closes her eyes so she can focus solely on the sensation of his lips, the way his hair feels as she tangles her fingers through it, the heat that's building in her stomach. With each kiss, he whispers her name against her skin.

"Natasha...Natasha...Natasha..."

"Natasha!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she doesn't hear her name being let out in a breathy whsiper but screamed and not by Steve.

"Natasha!"

She squeezes her eyes shut, hard. _No...no...just a moment longer..._

"Natasha!"

Natasha's eye shoots open and it's not the light fixture above the counter in her house's kitchen that greets her but instead it's the worried face of Wanda Maximoff. She's pale and sweating and the dark circles around her eyes look even more pronounced.

Natasha rises off the cot she's sitting on and runs her hands over her face. "Ugh, I was fighting you again, wasn't I?"

Wanda carefully takes a seat in a chair placed by the cot, one arm holding onto the chair, the other her rounded belly. "A little. Though, I'm sorry that this was a shorter session this time. My energy..."

"Nothing to apologize for," begins Natasha. She knows that Wanda's got less energy now that the baby's getting bigger. Add in the fact that the number of drops of resources has gotten smaller week-to-week and it's no surprise that Wanda can't keep Natasha in that dream world for as long as she used to. Honestly, it's selfish of her to ask anymore.

"Still..." begins Wanda, slowly, as she plays with the hem of her dress. "I know how much you miss him."

The words are like a knife through Natasha's heart. The last image she has of Steve (not of the one in her dream world but the one in this world, the real world) comes to mind. Him, dropping to the ground, lifeless. Thanos giving them that malicious, self-satisfied grin as he declared the death of Captain America. The death of the love of her life.

"It's been six months." There's a hard note in her voice, as if she's trying to convince herself that that's plenty of time to grieve.

Wanda must hear it because she softly says, "It's okay to grieve, Natasha."

Before Natasha can dispute that, she feels a sudden pulse of pain in the socket where her left eye used to be. It's a sign that she needs to get to Shuri for her daily dose of the poison's antidote. Silently, she makes her way toward the steel door on the other side of the room. She grabs the handle but before she leaves she stares down at the dirty concrete floor and speaks, mostly to herself.

"Grieving won't bring him back."

**Author's Note:**

> So, I really wanted to write something post-IW after I wrote if only yesterday took place tomorrow which was something pre-IW (well, more in the middle). This chapter fic is what I came up with. First off let me say that I haven't seen the movie so there are no movie spoilers in this fic and will not be even after I see it because this fic's plot is just purely an idea I had and I'm not worried about it following the movie canon once I see the movie. 
> 
> I hope I really had you guys thinking it was going to be some domestic fluffy stuff at the beginning because be prepared for it will not be (at least if it goes as I've laid it out). I don't want to spoil who is and isn't alive in this fic (let me reiterate again that I haven't seen the movie so I don't know who lives or dies in it but so if anyone dead in this dies in the film that is purely coincidence) so I haven't tagged everyone yet. After I let this first chapter sit a little, I'll update the warnings and tags. I just wanted that surprise at the end (hopefully you were surprised).
> 
> The next chapter dives deeper into how everything got where it is and who is and isn't alive. Also this is a Romanogers fic and there will be plenty of it later on (don't want to spoil how but I do want you to know there will be more). I also want to explore some of Natasha's dynamics with some other characters which will probably never be explored in the actual movies so I hope you all enjoy that too.
> 
> Sorry, I've droned on in these notes. Anyway, the next chapter is to come soon. Comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> Title comes from "Glitter in the Air" by P!nk.


End file.
